This cookie recipe comes to you a little bit late, but juuuuuust in time for Christmas. Better late than never I always say!
Every year, our neighborhood hosts a holiday cookie exchange, and I’m constantly on the hunt for new cookie recipes to try. Luckily, this year, I happened upon this Brussels cookies recipe on Food52. I made some slight changes and adaptations, and I have to tell you, I think it’s my favorite one yet.
If you’re already familiar with Brussels Cookies, a certain crispy, chocolatey Pepperidge Farm favorite, you’ll be surprised at how easy they are to make at home. You only need 9 simple ingredients, and you’ll get buttery, crispy, slightly chewy thin oatmeal cookies, sandwiched together with a gooey layer of chocolate in the center. They’re perfect with a tall glass of milk or a warm mug of hot cocoa. And if you want to make these even more flavorful, you can add orange or peppermint extract to the melted chocolate.
One final note before we get started. You’ll see that the recipe calls for “ground oat bran.” This is what gives these cookies their signature texture. You can buy oat bran at some grocery stores, where you find other specialty flours.
But I just took steel-cut oats and ground them into a coarse flour using my blender, and it worked great! You could certainly try grinding regular old-fashioned rolled oats, but I’m not sure if they’d be coarse enough to give these cookies the right texture. For more holiday cookie ideas, check out our Chinese Walnut Cookies, Matcha Bacon Sugar Cookies, Chock Full o’ Nuts Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Cranberry Orange Cookies.
Ok, on to the recipe!
Recipe Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and milk. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, oat bran, baking powder and salt. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until well blended.
Scoop rounds (1 teaspoon for 2-inch cookies, or more if you want the cookies to be bigger) and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 inches apart.
Bake for 11-12 minutes, until the cookies are golden around the edges. Cool completely (they’ll flatten as they cool).
Set up a double boiler to completely melt the chocolate.
Take a cookie, add about a teaspoon of melted chocolate to the flat side, and sandwich with another.
Set aside to let the chocolate set and continue until all the cookies are assembled.
